Groups or individuals who host public fishing tournaments can get them posted on our Lake Drive Marine Events Calendar.
It’s a free service of Michiana Outdoors News.
Our Events Calendar has become the No. 1 spot anglers visit when looking for open events on Michiana lakes. Get yours posted with us as soon as possible so anglers can plan ahead. It also helps groups avoid multiple tournament conflicts on a given lake.
Send your tournament information to stoutoutdoors@comcast.net. We cannot work from facebook links - we need your tournament information emailed!
We are primarily interested in events held in northern Indiana and southern Michigan although we will include tournaments scheduled outside that region if the circuit is based in northern Indiana/southern Michigan or if the circuit makes visits to our regional waters. Tournaments/circuits must be open to the public.
Schedules for the Events Calendar must include dates, entry fees, tournament hours, name/phone number of a tournament director contact, and ramp location (if the lake has more than one). We also include tournament logos for those circuits that include those in their submissions.
We’d like for tournament directors to submit results to us following each event. It definitely draws more interest in your events. Results should include top three finishers correctly spelled names, hometowns, winning weights and lures and/or patterns used. Result submissions that only have names will be rejected.
And finally, submissions with digital photos often get better play on the site and attract the most attention.
St. Croix Report
Walleyes disperse after their spring spawning runs but still remain somewhat concentrated in fairly predictable locations. That’s good news for walleye anglers who know where to look. Once found, hungry post-spawn walleyes are unlikely to turn down a meal, further sweetening the deal for late-spring and early-summer anglers.
Chuck Mason of Ida, Michigan chases walleyes all year long. An ice and open-water tournament angler for nearly 20 years, Mason can be found on his home waters of the Detroit River, Lake St. Clair, and Western Lake Erie when not traveling on the Michigan Walleye Tour.
“You can catch walleyes in the Detroit River year ‘round,” Mason says. “Even though spawning is wrapped up, certainly May and even into early June you can still get on concentrations of fish in the river, but I like to follow the fish back down to Lake Erie during this period. There are a few areas where dredging spoils create a lot of humps and variability in depth that really seem to concentrate our post-spawn walleyes. One is an area known as ‘the humps’ off the river near Monroe, Michigan, and another known as ‘the dumping grounds’ out of Luna Pier.”
Mason typically employs four primary presentations for post-spawn walleyes, namely, casting hair jigs, pitching lipless crankbaits and Jigging Raps, vertical jigging, and trolling. “Depending on timing and water temperatures, you may want to be in one place over the other. “We start out snap-jigging hair jigs and ripping lipless baits on the Detroit river, then shift more to using blade baits further down out of the mouth on Lake Erie,” says Mason.
MDNR Report
After ice and snow cover melt on Michigan lakes, it may be more likely for people to discover dead fish or other aquatic animals. While such sights can be startling, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources reminds everyone that it is normal, since winter conditions can cause fish and other creatures such as turtles, frogs, toads and crayfish to die.
"Winterkill is the most common type of fish kill," said Gary Whelan, DNR Fisheries Division research manager. "As the season changes, it can be particularly common in shallow lakes, ponds, streams and canals. These kills are localized and typically do not affect the overall health of the fish populations or fishing quality."
Shallow lakes with excess aquatic vegetation and soft bottoms are more prone to this problem, particularly when a deep snowpack reduces sunlight for the plants. Canals in urban areas also are quite susceptible due to the large amounts of nutrient runoff and pollution from roads and lawns and septic systems that flow into these areas, especially from large storm events.
View 2022 Fish of the Year winners below. Interested in competing this year? Find out how to participate.
Family | Species | Length (inches) | Location (County) | Angler |
---|---|---|---|---|
Black Bass | Largemouth Bass | 22.0 | Loon Pit (Warrick) | Matthew Kiefer |
Smallmouth Bass | 21.3 | Tippecanoe River (Pulaski) | Alex Deneau | |
Spotted Bass | 14.5 | Wabash River (Tippecanoe) | Liu He | |
Sunfish | Black Crappie | 16.0 | Elk Creek Lake (Washington) | Ray Bateman |
Bluegill | 11.0 | Private Pond (Newton) | Anthony A Talarico Jr | |
Green Sunfish | 8.8 | Private Lake (Henry) | Michele Porter | |
Hybrid Sunfish | 12.0 | Private Pond (Dubois) | Sam Sermersheim | |
Pumpkinseed (tie) | 9.3 | Clear Lake (Steuben) | Sally Pagorek | |
Pumpkinseed (tie) | 9.3 | St. Joseph River (Elkhart) | Bruce Buteyn | |
Pumpkinseed (tie) | 9.3 | Lake Michigan (Lake) | Anthony A Talarico Jr | |
Redear Sunfish | 12.4 | Private Lake (Putnam) | Will Lloyd | |
Rock Bass | 11.0 | Tippecanoe River (White) | Liu He | |
Warmouth | 9.0 | Clear Lake (Steuben) | Roger Voirol | |
Catfish | Brown Bullhead | 17.0 | Private Pond (Johnson) | Gregory Zentz |
Channel Catfish | 33.0 | Private Pond (Huntington) | Dan Bickel | |
Perch | Sauger | 18.5 | Wabash River (Tippecanoe) | Liu He |
Saugeye | 23.0 | Sullivan Lake (Sullivan) | Wayne Witkowski | |
Walleye | 30.0 | Sylvan Lake (Noble) | Kenneth Barden | |
Yellow Perch (tie) | 14.0 | St. Joseph River (Elkhart) | Aaron Voirol | |
Yellow Perch (tie) | 14.0 | Lake Michigan (LaPorte) | Greg Saylor | |
Trout/Salmon | Brown Trout | 25.0 | Lake Michigan | Sean Allwardt |
Chinook Salmon | 40.5 | Lake Michigan (LaPorte) | Kenny Barden | |
Coho Salmon | 33.3 | Lake Michigan (LaPorte) | Jeff Brown | |
Lake Trout | 36.5 | Lake Michigan (Lake) | Bryan G Odom | |
Lake Whitefish | 22.0 | Lake Michigan (LaPorte) | Hogir Saeed | |
Rainbow Trout (tie) | 19.0 | Strip Pit (Greene) | Steven Kellett | |
Rainbow Trout (tie) | 19.0 | Lake Gage (Steuben) | Micheal Grime | |
Steelhead | 32.0 | Trail Creek (LaPorte) | Liu He | |
True Bass | Hybrid Striped Bass | 30.0 | Tippecanoe River (Carroll) | Hao Wu |
Striped Bass | 15.5 | Cecil M. Harden Lake (Parke) | Liu He | |
White Bass | 16.5 | Tippecanoe River (Carroll) | Liu He | |
Minnow | Common Carp (tie) | 30.0 | Wabash River (Tippecanoe) | Jonah Switzer |
Common Carp (tie) | 30.0 | Wabash River (Tippecanoe) | Liu He | |
Creek Chub | 10.1 | Crooked Creek (Porter) | Max Odom | |
Emerald Shiner | 3.4 | Otter Creek (Vigo) | Steven Kellett | |
Golden Shiner | 10.3 | Airline Lake (Greene) | Travis Rowe | |
Grass Carp | 30.5 | Ohio River (Clark) | Joe Johnson | |
Silver Chub | 6.4 | Ohio River (Clark) | Joe Johnson | |
Striped Shiner | 8.5 | Fawn River (Steuben) | Greg Enyart | |
Sucker | Bigmouth Buffalo | 24.0 | Tippecanoe River (Carroll) | Liu He |
Black Buffalo | 26.8 | Kankakee River (Starke) | Mark Holbrook | |
Blue Sucker | 27.0 | Tippecanoe River (Carroll) | Liu He | |
Golden Redhorse | 20.3 | Kankakee River (Starke) | Mark Holbrook | |
Northern Hogsucker | 15.5 | White River (Lawrence) | Ron Anderson | |
Quillback | 18.0 | Tippecanoe River (Carroll) | Liu He | |
River Carpsucker | 17.0 | Ohio River (Clark) | Joe Johnson | |
Shorthead Redhorse | 18.0 | White River (Lawrence) | Ron Anderson | |
Silver Redhorse | 19.5 | Ohio River (Clark) | Joe Johnson | |
Smallmouth Buffalo | 26.0 | Tippecanoe River (Carroll) | Liu He | |
White Sucker | 20.8 | Lake Michigan (LaPorte) | Anthony A Talarico Jr | |
Other | Gizzard Shad | 18.0 | Tippecanoe River (Carroll) | Liu He |
Goldeye | 17.0 | Wabash River (Tippecanoe) | Liu He | |
Skipjack Herring | 16.0 | Wabash River (Tippecanoe) | Liu He | |
Bowfin | 30.0 | Pine Lake (LaPorte) | Ronald Ryba II | |
Freshwater Drum | 23.5 | Wabash River (Tippecanoe) | Liu He | |
Longnose Gar | 56.0 | Aikman Creek (Daviess) | Hayden Baker | |
Shortnose Gar | 28.0 | White River (Greene) | Jeffrey Kellett | |
Blue Tilapia | 17.5 | Dowling Park (Lake) | Eric Alegre | |
Mottled Sculpin | 3.0 | Big Blue River (Henry) | Greg Porter | |
Shovelnose Sturgeon | 31.0 | Wabash River (Tippecanoe) | Joe Johnson |
IDNR Report
Each year anglers from around the state submit their biggest hook-and-line catches from Indiana waters hoping they will top the list for their species.
Winning entries for Fish of the Year are determined by the total length of the fish. Participants are required to submit information about their fish, including where they caught it and the bait they used. They must also include a photo documenting the measured length of the fish.
In 2022, 71 anglers submitted entries for 55 different species. Submissions included numerous entries for popular species such as largemouth bass, rainbow trout, and bluegill. Several lesser-known species also received submissions, including emerald shiner, golden shiner, and mottled sculpin.
To view the full list of winners, click here.
To learn more about how to participate in the Fish of the Year program, visit on.IN.gov/RecordFish.